I have been salivating over the TIs since they first were unveiled. DH has promised I can buy one this Spring, but I have to resolve the storage issue and he will not agree to purchase the trailer. We live on a deep water creek with accesss to the magothy river and Chesapeake Bay. With a half acre lot, we don't have room for trailer storage, and already pay to store our power boat trailer off site. My plan is to eventually create a floating dock to store the TI and in the interim, to use an extra boat lift that we have at our pier. Is this a viable plan? Would I need to store it upside down on the lift? Are the lift bunks sufficient for support? Would a sunbrella cover be sufficient? Any other ideas? I have a small beach area which I will use to launch, but there is rip rap between the beach and the yard, so I wouldn't be able to wheel it to land-based storage. Thanks for any ideas. Still living vicariously through your posts!

I am interested in anyones experience converting a boat lift to a dock for our new TI.

When I check the price of a new floating kayak dock big enough to accommodate a TI I find I can purchase a "small boat lift" for the same or less. My plan is to build a deck on the lift framework so it becomes a sinking kayak dock.

LD,I really wanted to do exactly as you suggest to create a sinking kayak dock on the lift. But when I talked to the lift expert,he said he had seen several attempts by his customers to do this, and none were successful. On most of our lifts, the motor raises and lowers the lift on stainless cables. There is no downward force other than gravity. The buoyancy in the boards of the decking causes slack in the stainless cables and that is not good. The boards will sink at first, but as they dry out, they become more buoyant.

The day we closed on our doublewide trailer with a sea wall on a canal off Sarasota Bay there was an ad on Craig's List for an EZ dock for $500. I bought it and ten days later I bought an Adventure Island. After launching the AI from the beach near my house I decided to try it on the EZdock and it worked great. However, I think a jet ski EZ-dock would be easier to use. At first I would remove the sail at the end of the day but then I started leaving the sail in but now I tilt the boat over enough to fit the sail cover over the top of the sail. I have a 2006 AI so the mast release is a wire pull and occasionally I have to re-extend the spring to get it to hold the mast in. That is the main reason I leave the mast in since it is otherwise so simple and easy to remove. I got so wet from the sea spray in the heavy seas that I bought a dodger and it started out yellow but is now almost white having been bleached out by the sun. I highly recommend the Hobie Dodger. I also have two davits on the seawall that I use to lift my 18 foot Century power boat. If I used it for the AI I would simply use a canvas sling to haul it out. I think that one Davit would be enough. Last spring when I left for Maine I did use the lift to get the AI out of the water and up on the patio so I could slide it into the house trailer. I have a friend with a Sunfish sail boat and he uses one Davit to haul the 17 foot sailboat up onto ramp leading to his dock. He uses a harness with the davit. See http://www.sf260w.com/kayak for pictures.

Just in case anyone else encounters this issue, I thought I would post to let you know how this was resolved for me. I did in fact take delivery of a 2011 TI two weeks ago- yeah!!! The dealer was kind enough to loan us a set of wheels for the day, so getting it from my driveway to the dock was no problem. As far as keeping it on a lift, I think a Remote control would have been ideal except that the price was prohibitive for me. Now I had to find a way to get into the TI after it was floating in deep water and get out, as well.

I had the lift guys install a double wide walk board at a height that would be just out of the water when the TI is floating. To that board, I attached two fenders made of pool floats and a strong rubber bungee that wraps around the port AMA and secures back to the walk board. The combined force of the fenders holding the TI out and the bungee holding it in keeps the TI firmly positioned exactly over the cradles so that when I return to the lift, all I have to do is wrap the bungee around the AMA at the right spot and the TI will sit steadily while I get out and raise the lift.

It's not ideal, but it does work for now. Eventually, I am still planning to install a floating dock and that will be much easier.

I'll post pictures of my new lift platform when there is a little more sunlight in the Northern Neck of VA..

We went with a mini mag 2800 PWC/skiff lift by magnum boat lifts (boat lifts unlimited) the 2 units are mounted 12' apart. I used 14' extension ladder sections to span the 12' between arms. I put down 11" x 1/2" trex trim ( thinner than decking trex) for decking so it wouldn't be too buoyant . I end up with a 14'X 6' platform that has room for the TI and walking space on both sides.

Works great! I added some cobblestone ballast just to be sure the platform wouldn't float, as that is a big no/no. We also mounted the lift controls so I can reach them from the platform when it is in the water. Only takes a couple of inches to float a TI. the platform makes it easy to tidy up around the TI, fold/unfold amas, roll up tramp, handle the mast, etc.

I still need a cover to replace the gorgeous walmart tarp I have on it currently. Best part is I don't have to fight barnacles on it every winter unlike a float.